


A Joke

by ceemobster



Category: Actor RPF, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice RPF
Genre: M/M, i'm trash, yet another one in which Henry has a crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 20:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6534817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceemobster/pseuds/ceemobster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry had not expected them to become close friends. So how did it come to this? How did it come to him chewing on his bottom lip, not being able to take his eyes off his co-star while the older man was getting his mic set up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Joke

**Author's Note:**

> "RPF is weird," I said to myself once. "I can't write _that_." Yet here I am. I drew inspiration from [this](https://youtu.be/_YvPQwj7BpU) interview, but with a few tweaks. Needless to say, please treat this as a work of fiction.

A stupid crush. That was what Henry kept telling himself. A stupid little crush and nothing else.

It made sense, didn’t it? Ben was a marvellous man; charismatic, passionate, generous, talented, and certainly not hard to look at. Surely he was often the object of his co-workers’ interest and attention. It was certainly not the first time that Henry had developed a crush on a co-worker. So, truly, it was no big deal. Right?

On top of everything, they had now become great friends—which was certainly a good thing. _Right?_

_Certainly_ , considering they barely knew each other before filming. When Henry first learnt that the Batman role went to Mr Ben Affleck, he did not have any particular expectation in mind. All he knew of Ben at the time was that he was a great actor and director with many ups and downs, and so he was excited to learn from the more experienced man.

Henry had not expected them to become close friends. So how did it come to this? How did it come to him chewing on his bottom lip, not being able to take his eyes off his co-star while the older man was getting his mic set up?

“Alright, you all set, Henry?” the interviewer’s voice snapped him out of his musings. What was his name again? It didn’t matter, they would not be seeing each other again anyway.

Henry nodded. “Should we take our places now?”

* * *

“I have a lot of tattoos, it’s true, I do. But I don’t have them in places where you can see them because... it’s private.”

Ben looked relaxed, answering the interviewer’s questions with ease as always. It was impressive to watch, especially since Henry knew how much Ben actually hated these sorts of questions.

_“It’s fucking ridiculous, the things that they ask us sometimes,”_ Ben had said to him once, in complete annoyance, after one particularly awkward interview. _“We’re supposed to promote the movie, talk about our craft, the characters, what the movie builds up to, but all they keep asking about is our diet. Press tour really is the fucking pinnacle of modern film journalism.”_ Henry had laughed then. Though he did not usually mind the out-of-topic questions as much as Ben seemed to, he kind of understood the sentiment.

“It’s true,” Henry interjected before the interviewer could inquire further about Ben’s tattoos.

Ben shot him a surprised but grateful smile, which he returned in earnest. _You can thank me later, mate_.

“He knows, he’s seen them _all_ ,” Ben said, turning back to the interviewer.

And once again, they fell back to the old we’re-secretly-lovers routine. How many times had they done it now? He was not sure who had started it the first time, but by this point, the joke had become a norm to them. Sometimes Henry thought it was a good thing, since it made light of the situation and his whole ‘crush’ dilemma. It was also an effective method to deflect questions they would rather not answer. Other times, however… Other times he wished it wasn’t just a joke.

Henry plastered a sly smile to his face. “Very small tattoos,” he told the interviewer.

In truth, this was one of those times when Henry wished their stupid mock-flirting was more than what it was. Part of him regretted starting it this time around, as it made him want to bash his skull against the nearest wall. But for heaven’s sake, he was a bloody _actor_ , and if he could not hide his true feelings for an interview, then he did not deserve any of the roles he had ever got.

His comment earned a genuine chuckle from Ben. The hearty sound immediately reminded him that he had sprung the joke to make his friend feel better about the interview, which immediately made _him_ feel better about the situation. Ben’s ability to put him through such range of emotions—from frustration to jitters to elation—truly was preposterous.

“They make everything else look bigger.”

_Goddammit, Ben._

Ben was facing him again, grinning cheekily. Henry could not decide if he wanted to punch him or kiss him. Perhaps both. Unfortunately, all he could do was mirror that stupid, adorable, contagious smile.

**Author's Note:**

> The fact that they seem to ship themselves together is my only justification. But either way, justified or not, I'm still trash. Reviews/comments are always welcome.


End file.
